Times New Viking "Born Again Revisted"

Born Again Revisited follows the same gritty punk nuances that won them broad acclaim from 2008’s Rip It Off. While they’ve managed to retain their brooding minimalism from their previous album, each track still stands as a concentrated burst of winded lo-fi.

Times New Viking’s hazy chorus line vocals and dirty garage licks do much to obscure the album’s array of melody, while buzzing background keyboards on “City on Drugs” and “Half Day In Hell” injects a 60’s pop surrealism.

While I still see Times New Viking crafting their sound within explicit boundaries and limitations, Born Again Revisited is never hampered by their self-censorship. We have yet to hear their best work, but each stepping stone proves to be better than the last.

CITY ON DRUGS

Kurt Vile "Childish Prodigy"

Kurt Vile was once a calming guitar impresario. His previous albums, Constant Hitmaker and his latest, Hunchback EP, were superb guitar records that swayed like tall grass under the autumn sun. For the moment, however, Vile sheds his previous self-content and lets loose an album full of restlessness, emotion, and feverish soul mining. For example, Vile yelps and lunges with his lyrics, and even introduces what sounds like an E-Street Band on amphetamines in the song “Freak Train.”

But, Childish Prodigy is still a highway album, like his others. Songs like "Blackberry Song" and "Heart Attack" embark on the same psychedelic dust bowl trance. Ultimately, Childish Prodigy comes across as a wonderful twist in Vile's ascendancy as one of indie-rock's most important visionaries.

AMPLIFIER

Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions "Through the Devil Softly"

Hope Sandoval’s latest album is a darkly lit midnight opus that is beautifully packaged under the ominous banner, Through the Devil Softly. Whatever inspires Sandoval in her writing, Devil or no, her latest album is like a flickering fire that is in a terminal fight to keep her flames lit.

Sandoval has always astounded me with her subversive, yet delicate prose and shimmery vocals. Her somber delivery is strengthened by an eclectic folk fusion courtesy of her backing band, the Warm Inventions. “For the Rest of Your Life” pulsates with a slow, dissonant guitar tremble that is hypnotizing and aromatic.

Ultimately, Through the Devil Softly is a solid awakening for Sandoval. My advice to any takers out there; light a candle, put on the record, see what happens…and beware of the Devil.

FALL ASIDE

Girls "Album"

Lead singer Christopher Owens' lyrics cut right through the crap. For the most part, today's songwriters are honest, yet they don't always get to the point, or speak their mind clearly. They're usually hiding behind some complex series of innuendos or veiled comparisons. Owens is fantastic at telegraphing his plays, culminating as a refreshing buoy in a murky sea of recycled contemporary songwriting.

As Album drifts in and out of surf, psychedelic, pop, and alternative; the album plays out like a sweeping personal essay meant only for those of us that have shared in a somewhat tormented, yet freewheeling era of twenty-something relationships. However, I wouldn't take the album's tone too seriously, Girls still put forth a plentiful amount of playful melody and tongue in cheek retro-rock; ultimately loosening up on Album's fringe exterior.

 LAURA

HEALTH "GET COLOR"

Get Color is a mass of churning industrial dance/noise rock that leaves scars, as well as smiles in its wake. Lead singer Benjamin Jared Miller's shy, leafy vocals are offset with the group's relentless experimental percussive assault. Their previous album, HEALTH, progressed in fits and starts. Whereas Get Color still holds true to their brash technicolor post rock like its predecessor, yet fleshes out on a good number of areas where the overall aesthetics were lacking.

No sophomore slump here as HEALTH defends their territory by seizing on the momentum from their first album. Not sold on the new disc, then I can recommend giving their live show a go. But only if rocking out is your thing.

NICE GIRLS